Michael Lowry loses bid to stop tax offences case

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Michael Lowry's application to halt his prosecution for tax offences was dismissed. The proceedings were reported on 23 February 2016. His trial was due to take place at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

He faced charges of deliberately submitting an incorrect tax return, submitting incorrect corporation tax returns and failing to maintain proper accounting records. The charges concerned a payment of €372,000 to an Isle of Man trust account in August 2002.

An Appeals Commissioner had found that Mr Lowry had no personal income tax liability from the payment. State lawyers said this finding concerned an assessment made on a particular basis. They said the process continued and Revenue could issue an assessment on another basis.

Mr Lowry argued that the commissioner's finding undermined the justification for putting him on trial. He also alleged that media interference had affected his right to a fair trial. He said transferring the trial from Tipperary to Dublin breached his rights and punished him for being a successful TD.

Mr Justice Seamus Noonan dismissed the application on 23 February 2016. He said the time for challenging the prosecution decision had long passed. Mr Lowry accepted that the original decision was lawful but could not identify when the prosecution had become unlawful.

The judge said Mr Lowry had not demonstrated improper conduct by the DPP. He said the people and bodies criticised by Mr Lowry were neither before the court nor the DPP's responsibility. He also said Mr Lowry had avoided addressing the central transaction and that his arguments lacked substance or merit.

Mr Lowry announced that he would appeal to the Court of Appeal and, if necessary, the European Courts. He also said that both he and his company held tax clearance certificates.